Cornish Liberal Democrats announce zero rise budget alternative

Cornish
Liberal Democrats are today announcing a budget alternative which would
see council tax frozen for a third straight year.

“Our
budget alternative stands in stark contrast to the official budget
proposal of the Conservative-led council,” said Cllr Jeremy Rowe, Leader
of the Liberal Democrats on Cornwall Council.

“Where
they promise a council tax rise, we will freeze it. Where they propose
service cuts, we have found the money to reverse many of the harshest.
Where they have slashed money for road repairs, we will invest millions
and we will cut car parking charges across Cornwall.

“The
Conservatives on Cornwall Council have a history of wasting money. They
spent millions on the failed bid to privatise a huge range of services
without public or Council support. Their own budget documents show how
their group leader lost £300,000 of income in the coming year by failing
to implement a fairer scheme for discretionary rate relief. And let’s
not forget the £50,000 given to Plymouth in their attempt to host the
World Cup and the money wasted by ferrying tea and coffee between
offices by taxi.

“Last
year, council tax was only frozen because the Liberal Democrats
campaigned for it. Independents, MK and Labour voted for a rise and the
Conservatives dithered. This year, the Conservative cabinet members have
again said openly they are looking to the Liberal Democrats to take the
lead and propose a freeze. We are happy to do so.

“This
year’s council tax freeze will save between £25 and £70 for every
household in Cornwall. At a time of continuing economic hardship,
Cornwall Council should be doing our bit to help as many people as
possible.”

As
well as a council tax freeze, Liberal Democrats are proposing to cut
car park charges across Cornwall. Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrat
Group, Cllr Alex Folkes, said:

“We
believe that high car park charges deter motorists and damage our town
centre shops and businesses. The proof is in the £3m bail out that had
to be given to the car park budget last year and the £1.8m this year.

“In
Launceston we have proved that cutting car park charges can actually
result in higher income for the council. Happier motorists, happier
businesses and a happier council. We will do this for towns and villages
across Cornwall by cutting parking charges. We are confident that this
will succeed and we are dedicating £1.2m per year for the next two years
to underwrite the project.”

Liberal
Democrats have also recognised the damage that has been done to our
road network through cuts to the repairs budget. The budget will invest
more than £1.2m per year for the next two years in filling potholes and
repairing carriageways.

Lib
Dem Finance spokesman Ann Kerridge said: “The Conservatives stripped
the road repair and safety budget by millions in order to plug the holes
in their parking budget. Last week they announced that their own budget
proposal would put around £65,000 more into the pot. Whilst we believe
this is welcome, it is dwarfed by the £2.490m we will be investing.

“When
we talk to residents across Cornwall, one of the areas they tell us
worries them most is yobbishness and anti-social behaviour. Whilst the
Conservative Police Commissioner is increasing his demands on council
tax whilst slashing officer numbers, we want to do more to tackle these
problems. We will invest an extra £200,000 into the work being done by
Cornwall’s excellent youth service to tackle anti-social behaviour.”

Liberal
Democrats are also proposing to reverse some of the damage done by one
of the worst failings of the Conservative administration.

Deputy
Leader Alex Folkes said: “In April 2012, a new waste collection and
street cleaning service started. The introduction was so mis-handled by
both the Conservative-led council and the contractor that tens of
thousands of bins were not emptied and many streets were not cleaned.
The impact on our tourism industry could have been catastrophic. We will
invest in a ‘spring clean for Cornwall’ ahead of the coming tourist
season by using the contractual penalties the council will receive from
the contractor to invest in additional beach cleaning and litter
picking.

“Sadly,
the one Tory decision that we cannot reverse is their imposition of a
poor tax on 26,000 of the least well off working age families in
Cornwall. Their vote in January to impose an average £265 council tax
rise on these families is shameful. Regrettably, the Government has
decreed that the scheme decided then cannot be altered.

“In
order to pay for the council tax freeze and other proposals, we will
press ahead with our plans to cut spending on consultants and agency
staff. In addition, we will cut the amount that Cornwall Council is
spending on spin doctors and communications. The Conservatives actually
wanted to increase this budget in the coming year. We will reverse that
rise and ask that department to work with 6.25% less than the current
year.

“We
will also be challenging Cornwall Council to do better collecting
council tax. The target set by the Conservatives is 97.5%. Already our
officers are beating that rate and we challenged them to become one of
the best authorities in the country. We have set a challenge for the
coming year of 97.7%”

Lib
Dem Group Leader Jeremy Rowe added: “At this difficult time, no party
is able to promise to protect every aspect of council spending. Sadly,
there are some tough choices to be made. We will not shy away from those
and there are some areas where we are proposing cuts which we would
prefer not to have to make. But when the choice is between council
propaganda or repairing our roads and helping hard pressed families
across Cornwall, the Liberal Democrats know which side we are on.

“At
their budget meeting last week, Conservative cabinet members queued up
to ask the Liberal Democrats to take the lead to do what is right for
the people of Cornwall. This budget does so and we would welcome the
support of Conservatives and the people of Cornwall.”

1 comment:

Sounds a sensible approach - probably should do more to bring privately rented accommodation into the National Standard set by the Housing Act 2004 and a intervention and enforcement policy shouldbe published in line with the H&SE Concordat,

Comments Policy

Owing to a spate of recent anonymous trolls, I have had to up the comments moderation on this blog. I'll publish anything that is on-topic and not defamatory or illegal- however much I disagree with it - so long as you use your real name.